When Dawes visited the studio for an in-studio session, bassist Wylie Gelber was playing an instrument he built himself. 'I was unsure of how it would sound,' Gelber says, 'but it's become my favorite bass ever. It's the only one I play now.' Find out more about Gelber's handmade bass guitar.

JD McPherson, who performs on 'A Prairie Home Companion' on July 4, frequently wears a 'Smith Fabrication' shirt while onstage. It turns out the namesake of the shirt is TK Smith, a California-based guitar builder and craftsman. 'All the stuff I build is all technology that was available in the late 1940s to the mid-50s," Smith says. 'They used to make things so much better back then.'

Minnesota United FC's match against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers on Saturday is important not just because it's the final fixture in United's spring season, it's been dubbed 'Alan Willey Day.' Mark Wheat welcomes the former player and current television color-commentator into the studio to talk about soccer, music and what Alan calls 'the best seat in the house.'

Bobb Bruno of Best Coast explains how he came to play an Eastman T386, enjoying the feel and sound of the guitar so much that he made it one of his go-to instruments in Best Coast's live set. Bruno also describes some of the main effects he employs when playing live.

On the day Dawes release their fourth studio album, 'All Your Favorite Bands', Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes joins Jade by telephone to talk about the new record and the band's plans for touring in support of it. "As of now, I can't wait to play music every night," Goldsmith says.

To record the Waterboys' latest album, 'Modern Blues', Mike Scott decamped to Nashville. 'I wanted to do it with an American swagger,' Scott explains, 'so I brought in the players from Nashville and from Muscle Shoals, and I think I pulled it off.' Scott stopped at The Current to talk to Jim McGuinn ahead of his show at First Avenue . . . where a 'Purple Rain' cover may just be in the offing.

Dave Wakeling of the English Beat dropped by The Current's studio for a live chat with Bill DeVille. Wakeling described how he first discovered ska in the soccer stadiums of England, and he likens the changes in his band's lineup to putting together a good soccer team as he grows the sound of the English Beat as a global franchise. Wakeling also plays an impromptu acoustic version of 'Save it for Later'.